Author: Staff

Here is an update on the fundraising efforts by local San Diego candidates vying for success in the November election.

Mayor’s Race: Todd Gloria vs. Larry Turner

During the first half of 2024
Gloria

• Mayor Todd Gloria’s campaign raised $131,000 including $113,000 during the reporting period.
• an independent committee supporting Gloria called Big City San Diego raised $141,000 during the first half of 2024, including $88,000 during the reporting period, but only has $2,000 left to spend.
• Gloria’s campaign has a $377,000 war chest for the runoff

Turner

• Turner’s campaign raised $54,000 during the first half of 2024, including $49,000 during the reporting period.
• Turner has $26,000 war chest for the runoff.

Who knew a contest to select the city’s most egregious accessory dwelling unit (ADU) would get people so stirred up?

In the four days since we announced the OB Rag’s “Worst ADU in San Diego” competition, the response has been, well, unexpected.

No one seems neutral about this. Feedback has come from two camps. Some people are delighted that we want to put a spotlight on overwhelming projects that tower above nearby homes and siphon off available street parking.

And some think we’re just plain awful. “What an insulting and tone-deaf idea,” said one of the 74 comments posted so far. “You should be ashamed.”

Some clarification seems to be in order. First, to those who are enthusiastic about the contest — A lot of you want to submit entries, but some have asked if they can do so anonymously. That’s understandable. Extreme ADUs have pitted neighbor against neighbor in nearly every San Diego community. No one wants to escalate what have become personal conflicts.

If you want to remain anonymous, just email the address of the ADU to obragblog@gmail.com. We’ll confirm that it’s an ADU via an online search, and will not publish your name or email — then we’ll hand the entry over to our judges.

If a towering “accessory dwelling unit” (ADU) is throwing shade at you and your neighbors, the OB Rag wants to hear from you. Why? We’re holding a contest, ta-dah.

The OB Rag is inviting submissions for its “Worst ADUs in San Diego” contest. We are looking for extreme examples of ADUs that are excessive in size and overpowering in impact.

The nomination process is easy. Just send an e-mail with “Worst ADUs” in the subject line to obragblog@gmail.com.

By Geoff Page

The Rag decided to see how the $3.1 million – at last look – Cañon Street Pocket Park was coming along. As with everything else associated with this ridiculous use of the taxpayer’s money, the nearly finished product was jaw-dropping. And not in a good way.

For those unfamiliar with this pocket park, it is located along the east side of Cañon St. shortly before the speed limit reduces going south. The easiest way to locate the park is to look at the northwest terminus of Avenida de Portugal. The park runs from that street to Cañon St.

This is a 0.67 of an acre piece of land. That is 29,185 square feet or about six normal sized, 5000 square foot lots. The picture below encompasses the whole park. About two-thirds of the property, if not more, is taken up with concrete, decorative stone, a large circular play area, and landscaping. And a very small section of actual grass.

With all the talk about bike lanes versus charging stations, Rag reporter Geoff Page went down to Abbott Street to check out what the two city-owned charging stations in the parking lot of the main guard tower look like now.

Plus he wanted to see how the administration of Mayor Todd Gloria is  handling the new national push to increase charging stations all over California and the nation.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

San Diego city crews went to work Monday, August 5, on a portion of Sunset Cliffs that has noticeably eroded. A small section of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard near Guizot Street was shifted east by about 5 feet.

The construction work is scheduled all this week from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. causing portions of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard to be closed to traffic during those hours.

The city of San Diego identified it as urgent work to protect visitors and infrastructure.

Street crews removed the deteriorating guard rail and shifted the walking path, road markings and both travel lanes. Attached to the new guardrail is wood fencing to limit access.

Check out this brief video by Charles Landon of the Waterfalls of Point Loma. Charles and friend David Helvarg were diving off Point Loma on Sunday, Aug. 4, and saw them

By Geoff Page

Judging by the size of the crowd and the overall positive vibe from everyone, the cleanup effort at Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Saturday, August 3, noticed here in The Rag last Thursday, August 1, was a big success.

The event was organized by a partnership between two civic-minded groups. One a 501(c)nonprofit called Cans4Books , the work of Tisha Goolsby. The other group is a creation of OB’s own Tracy Dezenzo, a familiar face in local civic endeavors.

Tracy is a past director on the OB Town Council and has been on the OB Planning Board for years. She is also a commissioner on the City of San Diego’s Arts & Culture Commission.  Tracy’s new group is called “Desborder:Together for a Cleaner Environment.”

A majority of the San Diego City Council on Tuesday, July 30, voted to approve a controversial 5-story housing development in Pacific Beach despite the project’s breech of the sacrosanct 30-foot height limit and incorrect numbers given by the developer to city staff and local planning group members.

The approval was over strong objections from Councilmembers Joe LaCava and Raul Campillo, who urged the council not to reward developers who actively mislead community planning groups and violate the voter approved 30-foot height limit.

LaCava stated:

“This is most egregious bait and switch I have ever heard of in my long career (on development and housing issues). I cannot and will not vote to fund a project that is dishonest with the voters.”

Spinners, a tiny, hole in the wall, Middle-Eastern restaurant in Ocean Beach is up for sale.

Located at 4884 Newport Avenue, the place is on the docket for $120,000.

Today, Thursday, July 25, the City Council’s Community & Neighborhood Services (CNS) Committee will be discussing the STRO ordinance.

This will be the first city discussion since the ordinance went into effect May 1, 2023. San Diego residents have a chance to share our experiences and offer suggestions. We need to make our voices heard.

There’s lots of problems with the current ordinance and how it’s enforced. For starters,

University Community Plan Update Also on Docket

A number of grassroots and community groups are inviting their fellow San Diegans to an important hearing today by the City Council. The Council will hold a meeting on the General Plan Update including the controversial “Blue Print San Diego” and an update to the University Community Plan Update. The hearing begins at 2 pm, today, Tuesday, July 23 in Council Chambers at the 12th floor of the City Administration Building, 202 C Street, San Diego, California 92101.